On 9/21/2008 7:16 PM, Chris Nelson wrote:
On Sep 21, 8:38 pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 9/21/2008 2:13 PM, Chris Nelson wrote:

The house I moved into this spring has a beautiful magnolia tree in
the back yard but there is essentially no grass under the tree. It
was a little sunken and I filled with top soil and reseeded with a
shade mix early in the summer. The grass came in well but then died.
We had a fairly wet summer and I didn't fertilize after the starter
fertilizer so I don't think I "burned" it. I checked the pH and it's
nearly neutral. Is there something about magnolias that would keep
the grass from growing well?
Also, there's one branch that's a bit low and I'd like to prune it.
Should I do that in the fall or the spring?
Where are you? That is, what is your climate?

North of Albany, N.Y.

If it lives okay in your area and also has pink and white flowers, it is
definitely NOT a M. gradiflora (southern magnolia). Instead, it's
possibly a M. soulangeana or M. stellata. In any case, it's most likely
a deciduous magnolia.

If it blooms in the spring, prune it right after it blooms. If it
blooms in the summer, prune it just as the leaf buds start to swell in
the early spring. Entire branches should be removed; a branch that is
merely headed will heal very slowly and might die.

Do not try to grow anything under it. Planting under it is not good for
the magnolia itself. It cannot take repeated disturbance of surface
roots (e.g., to plant annuals, divide bulbs and perennials, or aerate a
lawn) in its root zone. It also does not like foot traffic in its root
zone.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/